Razor blade sharpener



July 6, 1937. D. A. COTTERAL 2,086,257

' RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER Filed Aug. 15, 1951 I IS l! 0% .6. lg z Patented July 6, i937 nazoa BLADE snAarENER Daniel A. Cotteral, North Haven, Qonn.

1931, Serial No. 556,833

Application August 13,

14 Claims.

This invention relates to a razor blade sharpener and more particularly to a device for sharpening the relatively thin double edged blades used in connection with several types of safety razors now on the market.

The cutting edge of a razor blade when viewed under a microscope does not present a continuous sharp line, but on the contrary the edge appears to present a row of very fine teeth or in other words is somewhat serrated. These teeth in use become bent and displaced out of their proper planes or positions and this results in the blade becoming dull, in that it loses its efiective and smooth cutting quality.

I have discovered that if the blade is moved upon or wiped over a smooth surface, the cutting quality of a used blade will be greatly improved. In other words a dull blade may be sharpened in this manner. I attribute this partly to the fact that the fine teeth upon the edge of the blade may by this manner be placed in proper alignment so that an efficient cutting edge is restored.

One object of my invention is the provision of an electrically operated razor blade-sharpener.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a razor blade sharpener wherein the edges of the blade will be drawn or wiped over smooth surfaces by magnetic action.

A further object of my invention is the provision of an electro-magnet having means for supporting a razor blade above the poles thereof whereby the blade by magnetic action will be moved in such a manner that it will be sharpened.

Another object of the invention is to provide an .electrically operated razor blade sharpener which will be emcient in its operation and at the same time economical to manufacture.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in thenovel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a razor blade sharpener embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged fragmentary side views showing the action of the device, and

Fig. 6 is a view of a modified form of my invention.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawing, my razor blade sharpener comprises a case It which may be of any approved construction provided with a cover H suitably secured thereto. Within the case is mounted an electro-magnet which comprises a central pole piece l2 and two outer pole pieces 13 and Id. These two outer pole pieces are, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, parts of U-shaped members of which the pole pieces l3 and Hi form the outer legs, the members l8 and I9 form the inner legs, and the inner and outer legs being connected by web portions l6 and I1. A coil 20 embraces the central portion of the magnet which comprises the pole piece l2 and the legs I8 and i9, and wires 23 are connected to the coil for the supply of electric current thereto.

The above parts of the device are so constructed that the pole piece [2 fits snugly between the members i 8 and I9 and is frictionally held in position therebetween. It will thus be apparent that the pole piece I2 is capable of vertical ad-- justment relatively to the rest of the magnet and will be held in adjusted position by friction between the members l8 and I9.

The pole pieces l2, l3 and M are, of course,

made of metal, and may conveniently be made of tool steel, and insulating members 2! and 22 are placed above and below the coil 20' to hold it in position and insulate it from the surrounding parts.

As shown in Fig. 3, the pole piece l2 comprises a relatively narrow body portion, upon the upper end of which is a head 23 extendinglaterally from the body portion so that, as viewed from the side as. in Fig. 3, this pole piece is T-shaped in form. Upon the head 23 are secured two relatively short posts 26 which extend through openings in the razor blade and hold the latter in place. This pole extends upwardly through an opening in the cover i i so that the upper surface 9,

of the head 23 will be substantially flush with the upper surface of the cover, the exact position of the head depending, of course, upon the adjustment of this pole piece relatively to the other parts of the magnet.

The members l8 and I9 of the U,,-shaped outer poles are substantially the same width as the pole 12, as is also the case with the web portions 56 and H. As shown in Fig. 3 the outer poles I 3 and it are of modified V-shaped form so that they increase in width toward their upper ends, which ends are of a width substantially equal to or slightly greater than the length of the razor blade which it is intended to sharpen. The pole pieces l3 and M also extend through openings in the cover ii and are Y provided at their upper ends with outwardly turned slightly inclined portions 25 and 26. The edges of the razor blade are adapted to rest on these inclined portions which are preferably hardened and ground and polished on their upper surfaces which contact with the edges of the blade.

The above described arrangement is such that, as shown in Fig. 2, when a razor blade 21' is positioned upon the posts 24, the edges of the blade will rest upon the surfaces 25 and 26 with the body of the blade lying in a horizontal position slightly spaced above the upper end of the pole I2. I prefer to operate my device by means of an interrupted or alternating current and it will be found convenient to connect it to the usual 110 volt, -cycle alternating house current. It will be apparent, that, when the current is turned on, the pole I2 will be magnetized, as also will the poles I3 and I I, the pole I2, however, having opposite polarity to that of the poles I3 and I4. The razor blade 21 will also be magnetized by induction, the central part of the blade having a polarity opposite to that of the edges resting upon the inclined surfaces 25 and 28 of the pole pieces I3 and I I. The result will be that the central portion of the razor blade will be attracted strongly toward the pole piece I2 and due to the resiliency of the blade the central portion will be bowed inwardly resulting in the sharpened edges being moved or wiped over the surfaces 25 and 26.

When the current drops to zero in alternating, the blade as well as the poles will be demagnetized and due to its resiliency the blade will move outwardly to its normal horizontal position as shown in Fig. 2. This operation will be repeated twice during every complete cycle of the current with the result that the edges of the blade being moved upon the surfaces 25 and 26 will be sharpened and have their efidcient cutting qualities restored.

In Fig. 4 of the drawing I have shown in an enlarged view the position of an edge of the blade lying upon the surface 25. In this figure the blade is in its normal horizontal position before the current has been turned on and it will be apparent that the extreme cutting edge 28 rests upon the surface 25, the lower corner 29 of the cutting edge being spaced slightly above the surface 25. As shown in Fig. 5, when the central portion of. the blade is attracted by the pole piece I2 and bowed downwardly, the extreme edge 28 of the blade will be moved slightly to the right over the surface 25 and the blade 'will also be rocked about the corner 29 so as to lift the edge 28 slightly from the supporting and sharpening surface. The reverse of this movement will, of course, take place when the current drops to zero and the blade again resumes the position shown in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 6 of the drawing I have shown a somewhat modified form of my invention which is quite similar to that shown in Figs; 1 to 3 except that the outer pole pieces I3 and I 4 corresponding to the pole pieces I3 and I6 extend upwardly into openings in the cover II and ter-- minate adjacent the upper surface of this cover. In this case these pole pieces are not provided with the laterally extending inclined surfaces to support the razor blade. In the place of these surfaces a pair of honing members 30 and 3| are provided, these honing members being supported in the cover II and presenting slightly inclined surfaces to support the edges of the razor blade, which surfaces are similar to the surfaces 25 and 26 heretofore described.

The operation of this form of my invention is the same as that described in connection with blade will be moved over the hones 30 and 3I so that these edges will be honed or ground as well as having the fine teeth realigned.

I have found, however, that the use of an ordinary razor blade maybe greatly prolonged by using that form of my invention shown in Figs. 1 to 5, as it is not necessary to grind or hone the blade except after long periods of use, and the vibration of the blade so as to move its edges over the hardened and ground surfaces 25 and 26 will restore the cutting quality of the edge and enable the blade to be used a great many times before it is necessary to hone or discard it. I

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of. modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A razor blade sharpener comprising means providing supporting surfaces for the cutting edges of the blade, and magnetic means placed opposite the intermediate portion of the blade between said surfaces to move the blade downwardly and cause its edges to move over said surfaces.

2. A razor blade sharpener comprising means presenting hardened smooth inclined surfaces to support the cutting edges of a blade, and electrically-operated means for vibrating said blade in .a direction substantially at right angles to the plane of the blade.

3. A razor blade sharpener comprising means presenting hardened smooth inclined surfaces to support the cutting edges of a blade, and means for vibrating said blade in a direction substantially at right angles to the plane of the blade, said means comprising a magnet positioned opposite the central portion of the blade, and means for alternately magnetizing and demagnetizing said magnet.

4. A razor blade sharpener comprising an electromagnet having a central pole and a pair of outlying poles, and means adjacent said outlying poles to support the cutting edges of the blade, said means comprising honing members having slightly inclined surfaces upon which the cutting edges of the blade rest.

. 5. A razor blade sharpener comprising an electromagnet having a central pole and a pair of outlying poles, and means adjacent said outlying poles to support the cutting edges of the blade and suspend the blade above the central pole, and said means having inclined hardened and ground surfaces upon which the edges of the blade are supported. I

6. A razor blade sharpener comprising an electromagnet having a pair of spaced poles and an intermediate pole, said spaced poles presenting inclined supporting surfaces for the edges of the blade and being hardened and ground, and a central pole lying between the spaced poles, the upper end of said central pole lying slightly below the plane of the blade when supported on said spaced poles.

7. A razor blade sharpener comprising an electromagnet having a pair of spaced poles and an intermediate pole, said spaced poles presenting inclined supporting surfaces for the edges of the blade and being hardened and ground, and a are of a polarity opposite that of the central pole.

8. A razor blade sharpener comprising an electromagnet, said magnet comprising a pair of U- shaped members placed with a leg of one parallel to and slightly spaced from the leg of the other, a pole piece disposed between said legs, a coil embracing said legs and pole piece, the other legs of the U-shaped members being disposed without said coil and projecting upwardly therefrom, and means on said last-namedlegs to support a razor blade in a position slightly spaced above the end of said pole piece.

9. A razor blade sharpener comprising an electromagnet, said magnet comprising a pair of U-shaped members placed with a leg of one parallel to and slightly spaced from the leg of the other, a pole piece disposed between said legs, a coil embracing said legs and pole piece, the other legs of the U-shaped members being disposed without said coil and projecting upwardly there-' from, and means on said last-named legs to support a razor blade in a position slightly spaced above the end of said pole piece, and said pole piece being adjustable between the legs of said U-shaped member.

10. A razor blade sharpener comprising an electromagnet, said magnet comprising a pair of .U- shaped members placed with a leg of one parallel to and slightly spaced from the leg of the other, a pole piece disposed between said legs, a coil embracing said legs and pole piece, the other legs of the U-shaped members being disposed without said coil and projecting upwardly therefrom, and means on said last-named legs to support a razor blade in a position slightly spaced above the end'of said pole piece, and said pole piece being adjustable between the legs of said U-shaped member, and being frictionally held in adjusted position.

11. A sharpener for double-edged razor blades comprising means providing spaced supporting surfaces for the cutting edges of the blade, and electromagnetic means to set said blade into rapid vibration in contact with said supporting surfaces and in a direction transverse to the plane of the blade.

12. A razor blade sharpener including a pair of sharpening elements having their upper surfaces inwardly inclined to engage the two edges of a double edged razor blade resting thereon, and I an intermittently magnetized electromagnet construction arranged for alternately exerting a downward magnetic force on said blade and releasing the same, whereby the edges thereof engage said surfaces with a sharpening movement.

13. A razor blade sharpener including a pair of sharpening elements having their upper surfaces inwardly inclined to engage the two edges or" a double edged razor blade resting thereon and having said surfaces oppositely inclined in the direction of the blade edges, whereby said blade is normally supported thereon at diagonally opposite corners, and means for intermittently and rapidly moving said blade downwardly against said elements and releasing the same.

14. A razor blade sharpener comprising a pair of spaced apart and substantially vertically disposed members, each having supporting sharpening surface upon its upper edge on which the cutting edge of a blade may rest in contact therewith and the blade suspended therebetween, an electromagnet disposed between said members below a blade supported thereon, and means to energize said electromagnet intermittently to cause it to vibrate one of said parts when a blade is being supported with its cutting edges resting on and in contact with said surfaces to effect a relative sliding movement between the supporting surfaces and the blade edges, and said vertically disposed members being arms of magnetic material associated with said magnet to be magnetized thereby and form a flux path through the blade to draw the latter downwardly on said surfaces.

DANIEL A. CO'ITERAL. 

